Safety mask



Aug. 21, 1956 R. e. WOODARD SAFETY MASK Filed Feb. 25, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A 35 g "l 3/ INVENTOR.

Aug. 21, 1956 R G. WOODARD 2,759,187

SAFETY MASK "Filed Feb. 23, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR. a! /f f lama/m a W00fl/lfi0 1 I I I W United States Patent Oflice SAFETY MASK- R'aymoud G. Woodard,-Murray HillpN. J. assignor to The Fibre Metal Products Company, Chester,- Pa., :1 corporationof Pennsylvania Application February 23", 1954, Serial'No. 411,713-

4 Claims. (Gl. 2--'8) This invention relates to safety masks, and particularly to that type of safety mask used by persons'engaged' in the handling of highly volatile liquids.

In the handling of highly volatile'liquids. such ashigh octane gasoline, jet fuels, and' the like; it is necessary that the operator be provided with a maximum degree of body protection to guard against possible bodily injury in case of flash fires or explosions. This protection is customarily provided bymeans of specially designed garments to be worn by the operator which aremade from a fire-resistant material; and whichar'e worn" in conjunction with protective boots, gloves, and ho'ods' or safety masks. The present invention concerns itself with an improved safety mask for'use with garments of this yp Safety masks of the type' contemplated by thepresent invention are often made in' two parts; namely, aheadgear, and a protective hoo'dwhi'ch is detachably attached to the'headgear. This attachment h'asbeen' accomplished by means of snap fasteners whose male and"f'em'ale portions are attached to the headgear and protective hood, respectively; In view of modern production. methods whereby the various parts of a given assembly'are often made at different locations and sent to a central plant for assembly, the difliculty hasarisen that upon assembly of the present type of safety mask, properattachmenti of the protective hood to the'headgear issomet'im'es rendered difficult or even impossible due to themisalignment o'f'the male and female parts of the snap fasteners. When this situation arises, it is necessary either to relocatethe. fasteners or discard one of the protective members altogether. Needless to say, this is both a costly and timeconsuming process. 7

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a safety mask having an improved fastening means for attaching the protective hood thereof tothe headgear;

It is another object of this invention to provide a safety mask having anadjustable fastening. means for attaching the protective hood thereof to" the headgear;

It is a further object of this invention to provide' in a safety mask having a headgear and" a protective hood, snap fastener attachment means whosemale and female parts are adjustably positioned on the headgear and protective hood, respectively, to overcome" any attachment difiiculties due to misalignment of the fastener parts;

In the use of safety masks of this type it is necessary to sterilize the headgear at frequent intervals for purposes of sanitation, in that the operator ordinarily per spires profusely While wearing the mask, and further in view of the fact that these masks are not a. personal item but rather a stock item, as in the armed services, for in stance. It follows, therefore, that a headgear having an excessive number of parts would present a' plurality of crevices which would encourage the collection of dirt so as to make complete sterilization difficult.

It is another object of this invention, therefore; to provide a safety mask having a headgear: of simple can struetion to facilitate the sterilization thereofl 2,759,187 Patented Aug. 21, 1956 Ithas been customary, inthepast', to fabricate safety mask headgear from a-' vulcanized fibre; This material has been satisfactory in every respect with the exception that the fibre absorbs the moisture ofperspiration' resulting in considerable warping" of the" headgear. This warping further contributes to thedifiiculty in the alignmentof' the fastener parts.

It is thus another object of this invention. to provide a safety mask having a headgear'made from moistureresistant material.

The protective hood' of safety masks of this type is' ordinarily provided with a transparent facepiece made from glass or plastic. This facepiece has'heretofore'b'een' held'in place by means of the'snapv fastener parts passing through apertures thereinthusholding the facepiece securely between the hood and headgear; The continual. fastening and unfastening of the safety mask. parts has, however, often resulted in crazing'of thefacepiece with eventual splitting thereof.

It is still a further object of this invention, therefore, to provide a safety mask havinga protective hood adapted to hold a transparent facepiece, without the necessity of drilling apertures therein;

These objects, together with some of the advantages to'be derived in utilizing the present invention, will be come apparentfrom the following detailed discussion and'from the accompanying drawings describing the preferred embodiment of the invention, in which similar numerals refer tosimilar' parts throughout the several views.

Figure l is a perspective view of the safety mask of the present invention showing the transparent facepiece installed inplace.

Figure 2 is a side elevationai' view of the. headgear of the present safety mask showing the male portion. of the snap fasteners adjustably mounted thereon, and'showing the relationship of the protective hood thereto in phantom;

Figure 3' is a front elevational view of the. headgear shown in- Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the safety mask of Fig. 1, with parts broken away, and with a portion of the protective hood" pulled" back was to illustrate the mode of attachment of the female fastener element on the hood to the adjustable male element on the headgear;

Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the headgear of Fig. 3, with parts broken away, illustrating the means for adjustably attaching the male fastener element to the headgear;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the protective hood, with parts broken away, showing the transparent facepiece in exploded relationship therewith.

Figure 7 is a front elevational view of the protective hood; with-parts broken away, illustrating how the transparent facepie'ce' is held m place.

Referring tothe drawings, and particularly Fig. 1, there is shown therein a protective hood referred to in its entirety by the letter H, which hood covers the entire head ofthe wearer. This hood is preferably made from a polyvii'lyl-coa'ted Fiberglascloth in view of the desirable fire-resistant qualities" thereof, although other fireresistan'tmaterials may beused' for this purpose .vithequal success. The hood consists of a crown portion 10 and a mask portion 11, the front of said mas-k portion being'formed' so as to provide a downwardlyextending flap section 12 which extends over a portion of the chest of the wearer. The front of the hood: is: also providedwith. a transparent facepiece 12, preferably made from a: flexible plastic such as acetate or the like, which is attached thereto in a manner to be described below. Securedtt'o the crown 1.0 is a loop I4 whose purpose it is to facilitate removal of the hood, and which serves as a useful means for hanging the hood H in storage thereof.

The hood H is detachably attached to a headgear worn by the operator,'which headgear is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The headgear 15 consists of an adjustable headband 16 and a strap member 17 which is connected thereto on diametrically opposed sides thereof and which passes over the top of the head of the wearer. A pair of arms 18 are fixedly secured to the strap member 17 and depend downwardly therefrom so that the free ends thereof lie in a spaced relationship to the headband 16. Pivotally attached to free ends of the arms 18, as at 19, is a rigid frame 20, which frame is adapted for attachment to the protective hood H. The rigid frame 28 is preferably made as a one-piece molded unit consisting of strands of Fiberglas bonded in a polyester resin. A one-piece unit made from this material exhibits a high degree of strength, and is susceptible of easy sterilization by virtue of its one-piece construction which eliminates dirt-attracting crevices. The said frame 20 is formed with a frontal portion 21 which protects the frontal and parietal areas of the skull, and a chin portion 22.

Referring to Fig. 5 in conjunction with Figs. 2 and 3, the frontal portion 21 and chin portion 22 are each provided with a plurality of longitudinal slots 23 in which are slidably mounted male members 24 of conventional snap fasteners. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the two flanges 25 and 26 of the male member 24 tightly grip opposite sides of the frame 20 and maintain the member 24 in a semi-fixed relationship in the slot 23 by means of the friction exerted by the said flanges in making rubbing contact with the said frame 20. Thus, when a difference exists in the relative locations of the male and female parts of the snap fasteners, this difference may be compensated for by simply moving the male member 24- transversely in the slot 23 until the desired location thereof is obtained.

Referring now to Figs. 4, 6 and 7, it will be seen that the protective hood H is provided with a rectangular opening 27 for purposes of vision, which opening is protectively closed-in by the transparent facepiece 13. The opening 27 is bounded by opposed flanges 28 and 29, and the flanges 29 are provided with female members 30 of conventional snap fasteners, which members are fixedly secured thereto and so located as to be in mating alignment with the male members 24. Surrounding the flanges 28 and 29 are flaps 31 and 32, which together with the said flanges 28 and 29, define a channel for holding the transparent facepiece 13. The

corners of the flaps 31 are provided with male fastener parts 33 while the corners of the flaps 32 are provided with female fastener parts 34. In addition, the flaps 31 are provided with stiifeners located internally thereof, as shown in Fig.7.

In protectively closing-in the opening 27, the flaps 31 and 32 are first pulled back as indicated in Fig. 6. Then the facepiece 13, consisting of a rectangular sheet of flexible transparent acetate, or other suitable material, is laid upon the flanges 28 and 29 and the flaps 31 folded inwardly toward each other as in Fig. 7. It will be noted that in this position the male fastener parts 33 project outwardly from the flaps 31. Finally, the flaps 32 are folded over the facepiece 13 in a direction toward each other, and the female fastener parts 34 are pressed into locked engagement with the male fastener parts 33, thus holding the said facepiece securely in place. A means is thus provided for supporting the facepiece without the necessity of drilling holes therein, eliminating any possibility of crazing and the ultimate splitting thereof.

In using the safety mask of this invention, the flaps '31 and 32 of the protective hood H are first pulled back,

as shown in Fig. 6, so as to expose the flanges 29 which carry the female fastener members 30. The said hood is then slipped over the headgear 15 into the position indicated in phantom in Figs. 2 and 3, so that the male fastener members 24 on the frame 20 and the female fastener members 30 on the flanges 29 are in a confronting relationship. The said fastener members are then pressed together in locked engagement so as to detachably attach the hood to the headgear 15. Should any discrepancy exist in the relative alignment of the male and female fastener members, making it difficult or impossible to join the two members, this discrepancy can easily be compensated for by moving the male member 24 transversely in the slot 23 until a true alignment is achieved. This feature not only facilitates assembly of the safety mask, but also eliminates the necessity of discarding parts whose fastener members are out of alignment. A consequent saving in production costs results. Finally, the transparent facepiece 13 is installed in place between the flanges 28 and 29, and flaps 31 and 32, in the manner described above, and the thus assembled safety mask is ready for use.

It is seen from the above discussion, therefore, that a safety mask is provided having novel fastener attachment means for attaching the protective hood thereof to the headgear, which means permits of correction of any misalignment of the fastener elements. Production isaccordingly enhanced and production costs reduced, not to mention the improvement in the actual usage of such a device. Furthermore, the one-piece nature of the headgear frame facilitates sterilization thereof, while the Fiberglas material from which it is made adds to its overall strength and eliminates warpage. In addition, a novel arrangement is provided for attaching a transparent facepiece to the protective hood without the necessity of drilling holes therein, thus eliminating the problem of crazing or splitting thereof.

Although the present discussion of this invention has been limited to the above-described preferred embodiment, other variations thereof are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore not intended that the invention be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but only to the inventive concept as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a safety mask, a headgear including a rigid frame having a rectangular facial opening, male snap fastener parts adjustably carried by said frame about said opening, a protective hood enveloping said headgear, the said hood having a rectangular opening therein in alignment with the opening in the frame and having corners, flanges about said rectangular opening in the hood, female snap fastener parts carried by said flanges in substantial alignment with said male fastener parts for detachably attaching said hood to said headgear, flaps in the form of strips attached to said hood in contiguous relationship with and overlapping said flanges with the end of one flap overlapping the end of another flap at each corner, a transparent facepiece over said rectangular opening in the hood and lying between said flanges and flaps, and fastening means at the overlapping ends of said flaps for attaching said flaps to each other so as to hold said facepiece securely in place.

2. In a safety mask; a headgear including a rigid frame having a rectangular facial opening; the said frame having a plurality of transverse slots therein about said opening; male snap fastener parts slidably mounted in said slots; a protective hood enveloping said headgear; the said hood having a rectangular opening therein in alignment with the opening in the frame and having corners; top, bottom, and side flanges bordering said rectangular opening in the hood; female snap fastener parts carried by said top and bottom flanges in substantial alignment with said male fastener parts for detachably attaching said hood to said headgear; flaps in the form of strips attached to said hood in contiguous relationship with and overlapping said flanges with the end of one flap overlapping the end of another flap at each corner; a transparent facepiece over said rectangular opening in the hood and lying between said flanges and flaps; and complemental snap fastener parts carried by the overlapping ends of said flaps for detachably attaching said flaps to each other so as to hold said facepiece securely in place.

3. In a safety mask; a headgear including a one-piece rigid frame having a rectangular facial opening; the said frame being formed with a frontal portion above said opening and a chin portion below said opening and having a plurality of transverse elongated slots in said frontal and chin portions adjacent to said opening; male snap fastener parts slidably mounted in said slots; a fire resistant protective hood enveloping said headgear and having a rectangular opening therein in alignment with the opening in the frame and having corners; top, bottom, and side flanges bordering said rectangular opening in the hood; female snap fastener parts carried by said top and bottom flanges in substantial alignment with said male fastener parts for detachably attaching said hood to said headgear; flaps in the form of strips attached to said hood in contiguous relationship with and overlapping said flanges and With the end of one flap overlapping the end of another flap at each corner; a flexible transparent facepiece over said rectangular opening in the hood and lying between said flanges and flaps; and complemental snap fastener parts carried by the overlapping ends of flaps for detachably attaching said flaps to each other so as to hold said facepiece securely in place.

4. In a safety mask; a headgear including a one-piece rigid frame made from Fiberglas bonded with polyester resin and having a rectangular facial opening; the said frame being formed with a frontal portion above said opening and a chin portion below said opening and having a plurality of transverse elongated slots in said frontal and chin portions adjacent to said opening; male snap fastener parts slidably mounted in said slots; a polyvinylcoated glass fabric protective hood enveloping said headgear and having a rectangular opening therein in alignment with the opening in the frame and having corners; top, bottom, and side flanges bordering said rectangular opening in the hood; female snap fastener parts carried by said top and bottom flanges in substantial alignment with said male fastener parts for detachably attaching sai hood to said headgear; flaps in the form of strips attached to said hood in contiguous relationship with and overlapping said flanges with the end of one flap overlapping the end of another flap at each corner; a flexible transparent acetate facepiece over said rectangular opening in the hood and lying between said flanges and flaps; and compleniental snap fastener parts carried by the overlapping ends of the flaps for detachably attaching said flaps to each other so as to hold said facepiece securely in place.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,570,917 Orent Jan. 26, 1926 2,169,745 Shipman Aug. 15, 1939 2,312,227 Yant Feb. 23, 1943 2,495,636 Hoeltzel et a1. Jan. 24, 1950 2,589,409 Leichter Mar. 18, 1952 2,610,323 Johnson Sept. 16, 1952 2,631,287 Malcom Mar. 17, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 16,265 Great Britain Feb. 5, 1914 

